The Boring Company’s tunneling machine was recently caught in the open and now the Elon Musk founded startup was released its first promotional video.
In the clip, we can see a Tesla Model S driving in the city and then pulling over to the curb to park on an elevator. The car is lowered beneath the ground and the elevator floor is revealed to be a flatbed railcar. The rail-car then travels along a pre-installed track at 124 mph (200 km/h) before reaching its destination and reemerging from the ground. The car then drives off the ramp to reach its final destination.
The idea of traveling underground at speeds up to 124 mph (200 km/h) is pretty appealing as it could significantly reduce travel times. Besides traveling faster than on traditional roads, the automated nature of rail travel would eliminate congestion and bottlenecks.
Unfortunately, a massive infrastructure project such as this wouldn’t come cheap and it’s hard to believe governments would support the idea when many have trouble keeping traditional roads in good shape.
Despite this, Elon Musk hasn’t been deterred and is drilling test tunnels under the SpaceX facility in California.